The online global retail company, Shein, sells a very large range of products, from clothing to furniture, to beauty products. Shein is a very popular site due to its low price point and trendy styles. However, Shein is also known for its track record of human rights violations and its environmentally unsustainable model, which makes many wonder how Shein has stayed so popular.
Shein has done other things that have also made consumers question the morality of the company. In 2020, Shein released a product on their website that was wildly insensitive and inappropriate. The fashion retailer was selling a swastika necklace and advertising it as a “Metal Swastika Pendant Necklace.” The product has obviously been removed from the website and people are no longer able to buy it, but the “mistake” has forever tainted the brand.
Shein did issue an apology after receiving a ton of backlash but the apology should never have had to happen in the first place. They posted a six-slide apology on Instagram and acknowledged that they “made a gigantic mistake by selling a product that’s harmful and offensive” and that they are “so, so sorry.” Shein also put in their post that they were trying to sell the necklace as a Buddhist symbol and that it stood for spiritual and good fortune, noting that the symbol differs from the Nazi swastika. This part of the apology made it feel like they were trying to excuse their behavior despite apologizing and honestly for me, it invalidates the whole post. They should have owned up to their actions and taken full responsibility for the lack of care and concern that came with selling a swastika necklace.
The swastika necklace wasn’t even the first offense from the company. A week prior, Shein was called out for selling Muslim prayer mats as “Greek carpets.” The mats had pictures of the Kabaa on them, which is the most sacred place to Muslims around the world, located in the center of Mecca. Shein also issued a response on Instagram for this incident, stating that they were sorry and that it was “a highly offensive oversight.” They also wrote that they vow to do a much better job of educating themselves on different cultures and religions to ensure their diverse community feels respected. If the brand was serious in this statement, the swastika incident 100 percent would not have occurred a week later.
Not only that but in the swastika apology, Shein wrote that they would no longer be selling any form of religious items on their site. However, if you search on the Shein website right now for just the words religion, there is a whole slew of items you can buy that have religious meaning. While the ability to buy a menorah doesn’t have the same implications as buying a swastika, this just proves that companies like Shein do not care about their consumers.
The fact that religious items are still available for purchase just shows that Shein will continue to go back on what they say and are not willing to learn from their mistakes. We should not be surprised the next time an offensive and inappropriate item appears on the website for anyone to purchase. Companies like Shein only care about making as much of a profit as possible, and that includes hurting the people who are buying their products in the process.
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These examples of the insensitivity of Shein’s products is so awful to read about. I have never supported or bought things from Shein because of their labor ethics and because of how fast fashion negatively impacts the environment. I had not heard about these products that were incredible offensive before, but I have now lost even more respect for the company. It is crazy that the company two offensive products go on sale so close together, even after apologizing for the first one. It is interesting to me that they wouldn’t have more people carefully checking their products so another incident didn’t happen. As a college student, I can understand the appeal of the cheap prices of Shein, but their history of terrible ethics makes me question how it is still so popular and widely supported by so many people.
I really liked how your post calls out Shein’s pattern of offensive and careless behavior. I believe that Shien has been consistently prioritizing profit over ethics for a long time. The examples you gave of the swastika necklace and the misrepresentation of Muslim prayer mats are clear proof of how Shein has repeatedly failed to respect the cultural and religious significance of the items they sell. Their apologies feel more like damage control than genuine accountability, especially when their actions don’t align with their promises like their continuation to selling religious items after claiming they wouldn’t. This speaks to a larger issue with fast fashion companies like Shein, where the goal is rapid production and profit at the expense of thoughtfulness or responsibility. Many companies rely too much on apology statements instead of meaningful changes and this shows that they aren’t learning from their mistakes, but are instead banking on their popularity to shield themselves from lasting consequences. Unfortunately, as long as consumers keep buying from Shein without holding them accountable, the company has literally no incentive to change. This raises important questions about consumer responsibility and how we can collectively push for better standards in the industry. Ultimately, Shein’s behavior reflects not just a failure of corporate ethics, but also a failure of the fast fashion model to respect human rights, the environment, and cultural sensitivities.